Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 disclose techniques for pouring molten metal from a chute into a casting mold that are designed to improve the quality of ingots to be casted through continuous casting.
Patent Document 1 discloses that the level of molten metal at a molten metal outlet of a melting furnace and the level of molten metal in a hot-top are made equal to each other, so that the molten metal is poured to spread the entire hot-top through a pair of left and right openings formed in a chute.
Patent Document 2 discloses that, in semi-continuous casting of an ingot having extensions, molten metal is poured into a casting mold while keeping the level of the molten metal substantially equal to the level of the molten metal in a casting mold having a hot-top. When pouring molten metal, flow adjusting plates provided in the hot-top adjust the flow of the molten metal such that it flows through the hot-top along the directions in which the extensions extend.
Patent Document 3 discloses a configuration without a hot-top, in which molten metal is supplied from a chute to a distribution pan floating on molten metal in a casting mold via a supply pipe. Molten metal in the distribution pan spouts from discharge holes of the distribution pan to be supplied to the casting mold. The distribution pan functions as a flow rate control valve of the supply pipe so that molten metal is supplied to the casting mold at a stable amount.